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Highlights |
The President of Finland A Patron of the 2015 Coupe Mondiale - FinlandPicture of Accordionist Wins 2015 iPhone Photography Award - PolandMacedonian Trio AkodrioM Concert at Gallery MC, New York - USAUnpublished Videos: Frank Marocco Informal Fun, Castelfidardo - Italy
Reports for Concerts, Masterclasses, Competitions, Festivals, etc. |
41st Training Course for Accordionists of the DHV, Remscheid – GermanyVideo: Campbell Bettridge, Bach Video Tops 1 Million Viewers - New ZealandJill Sharpe (1944-2015), Norfolk – UKMusic of Cinderella Composed by Arkhipovskiy Available - RussiaBrooklyn Accordion Club’s “Great meeting!”, New York – USAVideo: "Wir sind Spitze!" Official Releases - NetherlandsVideo: Gorka Hermosa on TV Program Bonheur de Nacre - France‘14 Years Ago’: Accordionist Performs at ABBA Tribute Concert, June 2001
Future events |
Fleadh Cheoil Open Day, Sligo – Republic of IrelandNatalya Chesnova’s ‘A Montmartre Ce Soir’ Concert, Ponteranica – ItalyNHAA Meeting, New Hampshire – USAQuintet ‘Accordion 5’ Concert, Hertfordshire – UKBernard Delfigeas and Grégory Aymard on TV, Télé-Toulouse – FranceBradford Accordion Band Concert, West Yorkshire – UKKennet Accordion Orchestra Cancer Charity Concert, Berkshire - UKAccordion Summer School, Glasgow – UKTeodoro Anzellotti Master Class @ Livorno Music Festival - Italy
New and Updated Sites |
Updated Site: New eBook Released, Italian Spectacular Arranged by Gary Dahl - USA
CD Reviews |
CD Review: L'armonica a mantice di Giuseppe GreggiatiHelp Desk, Information needed, Readers CommentsSubmit Your Question, CommentSUBMIT NOW |
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Highlights |
by Minna Plihtari
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  The President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö (picture left) has become a Patron of the 2015 Coupe Mondiale and Festival to be held in Turku, 6-11 October. This is a an honor for the accordion, the 68th Coupe Mondiale and for the Finnish Accordion Association (Suomen Harmonikkaliitto) who are hosting the event. As well as 8 categories of international accordion competitions, there are major concerts including Maria Kalaniemi & Timo Alakotila, Kimmo Pohjonen, Guardia Nueva with soloists, Mika Väyrynen and of course, the final concert will feature the 1st Prize Winner of each competition category in a concert to be broadcast by The YLE Radio Channel 1. You can now book your concert tickets online at: http://bookings.coupemondiale2015.fi/en/ and the Finnish Accordion Association is offering a special Coupe Mondiale 2015: 'Full Access Badge' for the amazing value price of only €80,00. |
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by Harley Jones
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 The 2015 iPhone Photography Award has been won by a picture of a Polish accordionist playing in a town square, taken by Michal Koralewski.Photographer of the year Michal Koralewski (Poland), said he spotted the accordionist playing traditional Polish songs as he strolled through a market square in Warsaw. “His face was the first thing I noticed, so expressive and beautiful in its own way," Koralewski said. A remarkable picture of a starling in flight was second, while third was a picture of a couple sleeping on a train. |
by Anica Karakutovska
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 Macedonian accordion trio AkodrioM will hold a concert at Gallery MC, 549 West 52nd Street, 8th Floor, NYC on June 22nd at 7 pm.The concert is supported by the national program of the Ministry of Culture of Republic of Macedonia. Trio AkodrioM consists of: Zorica Karakutovska, Bojan Volchevski and Filip Stamevski. This trio started performing together a few years ago, but its members have previously been part of various musical ensembles that sometimes perform together on stage. AkodrioM members Bojan Volchevski and Filip Stamevski are both Karakutovska's former students. Their concert list is considerable, with performances in Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Portugal, Luxembourg, Italy etc. AkodrioM play transcriptions/compositions originally written for other chamber ensembles' (by Vivaldi, Bach and Mozart) alongside accordion works (from Derbenko, Piazzolla and Galliano). Their latest repertoire are works created from the young composer Bete Ilin, showcasing the complex rhythmic structures in Macedonian folklore (5/8, 7/8, 9/8). These compositions are inspired by traditional Macedonian songs and are written in a contemporary style using various composing techniques. |
by Harley Jones
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Video 2: The Shadow of Your Smile & Lover Come Back to Me
 I’d like to thank Dan and Joan Grauman (picture left) for sharing these two previously unpublished videos of Frank Marocco playing in June 2011 at the Frank Marocco Accordion Orchestra Camp in Castelfidardo, Italy. Dan Grauman wrote: "In addition to daily orchestra rehearsals, campers would volunteer to perform for the group. Frank, who always considered himself as “just one of the campers”, also took a turn and everyone was thrilled." Video 1: The Song Is You Video 2: The Shadow of Your Smile & Lover Come Back to Me Thank you very much to Joan and Dan Grauman. |
Reports for Concerts, Masterclasses, Competitions, Festivals, etc. |
by Anita Brandtstäter
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 Pictures above:1. Orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Ruß 2. Lars Holm ensemble course. 3. Sascha Davidovic conducting the orchestra. Picture left: Lars Holm and Hans-Günther Kölz as accordion duo. The 41st Training Course for Accordionists of the Deutscher Harmonika Verband (DHV) in Remscheid "was again a great Whitsun week! I particularly noticed the harmony among the participants. They were all very happy and it is very good and to have been working intensively in the individual courses." said organizer Matthias Hennecke, also regional Chairman of the DHV North Rhine-Westphalia. Teachers included Hans-Günther Kölz, Wolfgang Ruß, Tristan Kindel, Matthias Matzke, Sascha Davidovic, and Lars Holm. The Orchestra Course, led by Wolfgang Ruß began work studying the swing classic ‘Take The A-Train’ and ‘N'oubliez jamais’, by Joe Cocker, an a medley from the movie ‘Grease’. For the soloists, Matthias Matzke had a solo version arrangement of Helmut Quakernack’s ensemble piece ‘Catwalk’. The course led by Hans-Günther Kölz for conductors included study of three works: ‘Singapore Skyline’, a composition by Wolfgang Ruß, and new arrangements of ‘Sicilienne’ by Gabriel Fauré for solo and orchestra, and ‘Rojo Tango’, by Pablo Ziegler. The Lars Holm (Sweden) ensemble course studied a ‘Medley’ of music by the Beatles and Abba, and the ensemble memorised Finnish Polka. The orchestra course by Sasha Davidovic studied classic works such as the ‘Egmont Overture’, arranged by Thomas Bauer, and an excerpt from the final movement of Dvorak's ‘New World Symphony’, arranged by Tobias Dalhof, and ‘New York Tango’, by Richard Galliano, arranged by Hans-Günther Kölz. The evening program had something to offer for everyone: Hans-Günther Kölz presented the students of the Hohner Konservatorium Trossingen - Felix Fritschi (accordion), Felix Kogel (accordion and piano), and Monja Howler (harmonica), on Tuesday. ‘Uwaga!’ quartet presented virtuoso folk to classical music in surprising arrangements on violin, viola, double bass and accordion. Miroslav Nisic was the accordionist of the quartet. Lars Holm, gave an interesting insight into his life and the literature written by him. He performed as a soloist, with his ensemble, and also in a duo with Hans-Günther Kölz and as a trio, completed by Sabine Kölze. Last but not least the State Youth Accordion Orchestra North Rhine-Westphalia, headed by Helmut Quakernack, impressed on Friday evening with the original compositions ‘Ishara’ and ‘Global Animals’ by the conductor and a perfect interpretation of the ‘Enigma Variations’, by Edward Elgar, arranged by Stefan Hippe, and led by Sasha Davidovic. The course also included a repair course for beginners and advanced, led by Tristan Kindel. Picture below: Closing party fun music with Hans-Günther Kölz at the piano. |
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by Harley Jones
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 A search on youtube shows Toccata and Fugue in D minor as far the most popular accordion/Bach work with New Zealander Campbell Bettridge the first to have over 1 million views. This may even be the most viewed 'classical accordion' performance.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmTG9wTfrzk Campbell Bettridge won the NZ Accordion Championships in1993 and 1994 and also performed solo to standing ovations internationally with the Air New Zealand Accordion Orchestra on tour in 1994 and 1996 and other international tours and performances in USA, Russia and China. A New York Times review by Allan Kozinn in September 1994 said: "..... there were some eyebrow-raising virtuoso solo turns. The most astonishing performance of the evening, in fact, was a note perfect rendering of the finale of Bach's "Italian" Concerto by Campbell Betteridge." Campbell Bettridge wrote: "How I came about to learn Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Bach has been my favorite composer for as long as I can remember. His complex harmonies, and perfect structure too alluring to not attempt. A combination of recordings by Glenn Gould on piano and Marie Efford-Masefield on accordion led me to Italian Concerto, which I performed internationally on many occasions. With these successes came a confidence towards performing this type of music. Friedrich Lips was the most influential person to me when it came to Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. After listening to his recording for years, and wondering if it might be possible to play on a piano accordion, I decided to investigate the possibility of learning it by arranging the work from the original organ score for my piano accordion with 160 bass quint free bass system. On-and-off, it took about a year to work out the difficult sections and another year to complete arranging and learning the work. I have since performed the work in many parts of the world, including China a number of times, Russia, and New Zealand. The recording on YouTube is from a concert in Christchurch for the Canterbury Accordion Association (CAA) in 2002. This is just prior to the 2002 Coupe Mondiale in Copenhagen. It was some years after this, that the recording found its way onto YouTube, because of a request from a friend, to see me in performance. I am happily surprised about the amazing number of views this video has received, and very glad that we can display the accordion performing this style of music." Campbell Bettridge's arrangement has now been made available online at Catalog: bettridge01 |
by Rob Howard
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 Jill Sharpe, accordionist and teacher, died from cancer at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital on Tuesday June 9th, aged 71. Jill’s son Paul said, “Both my Dad and I will deeply miss this great lady, who was loved by so many people and who was such an important part of our lives. She faced her illness with great bravery, dignity and no complaint, taking it all in her stride, with little thought for herself. We are proud to have had her in our lives”. Jill Sharpe played both the accordion and organ professionally, and also taught both instruments. She had lessons in Nottingham with the late Fred Parnell, and played accordion during the 1960s with The Pete Tomlinson Trio. As an organist she worked in social clubs, playing for dancing and accompanying singers, at Butlins holiday camps, in the orchestra pit in theatres, and at one time even played with a travelling circus. In recent times Jill was the lead accordionist with The Troshers, who describe themselves as the less formal side of the Norwich Accordion Club, entertaining at clubs, groups, nursing and residential homes in the Norwich area. She also became a church organist. A service of celebration will be held at St. Swithin’s Church, Ashmanhaugh, Norfolk, on July 1st at 2pm. Instead of flowers, people who wish to should make a donation to the Crohn's and Colitis UK Charity. |
by Harley Jones
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 Following videos of Alexander Poeluev performing Cinderella by Arkhipovskiy, and the work being featured on his CD and eTracks album, Poeluev has received a number of requests for the arrangement.The arrangement is now available for sale. Please email: adm_a_poeluev@mail.ru The CD and eTracks album 'Live in Rostov-on-Don 2013' is available online at: Alexander Poeluev |
by Rob Howard
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  Brooklyn Accordion Club’s French musette afternoon last week was considered by its attendees as a “great meeting!” Their club group email commented, “Thank you all for coming and participating in the meeting on Sunday! We had a lot of unique performances, and very friendly audience! We had thus far the youngest (10 year old) accordionist performed for us! A special thanks to Tony Kovatch (picture right) and Kim who have shared their expertise on French musette with the club”. The Brooklyn AC informs all: “Don't forget to stop by at Carrol Park in Brooklyn on Sunday June 21st for Make Music NY! There will be accordion players all day, and mass appeal starts at 6pm! Bring your squeeze box!” |
by Harley Jones
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| Popular Netherlands group "Wir sind Spitze!", accordionist Kevin Vd Eijnden, have released: Video 1: 10th June 2015, the official video of "100X Verrückter". Video 2: 28 Jan 2015, the official video of "Anne-Marie". |
by Harley Jones
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| LMtv Sarthe (France) published this video clip in March 2015 of Gorka Hermosa performing his own composition 'Anantango' on the excellent accordion program Bonheur de Nacre, presented by Pascal Savard. This clip of Gorka Hermosa has been broadcast again this week on LMtv Sarthe and simultaneously on Channel 238 South Orange in France. LMtv Sarthe have a channel on youtube with many past programs. Enjoy |
by Rob Howard
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 The Accordions Worldwide news for the week ending June 15th 2001 included information concerning an Abba tribute concert that featured an accordionist, Botelius, backing a Marilyn Monroe impersonator who sang Elvis songs! Coincidentally, Benny Andersson of Abba, who wrote most of their hit songs, has gone back to his first love – being an accordion player!ACCORDIONIST PERFORMS AT ABBA TRIBUTE – USA The ‘Bjorn Again’ tribute to ABBA will be held on June 22nd at the Roseland Theatre in Portland, Oregon. This show has played 1800 times in 43 countries so far. Accordionist Miss Cybelvis Monroe (a Marilyn Monroe impersonator who sings Elvis Presley's hits to the accordion) will open the show. Cybelvis "breathes" out Elvis' hits as Marilyn might have, with crimson lip-curls and hip-shakin' shimmies. Botielus backs her up on accordion and sequencer, with surprising interpretations of familiar songs, like ‘Blue Suede Shoo-shoo-pee-doos’ and ‘Dancing King’. |
Future events |
by Rob Howard
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 As part of the Fleadh Cheoil Open Day on Friday June 19th, 9.30-am-4pm, musicians are invited to come and play a tune for the Fleadh. A novel Fleadh initiative will see a Musician's Corner set up outside of the Glasshouse Hotel, Sligo, between 12-1pm.Musicians can come to play a set of tunes, either as a solo musician or part of a group, and this will be streamed live via Twitter's Periscope App over the internet. So if you play an instrument - to any level - sing a song, recite a poem or dance a step, drop in to the Glasshouse for a few minutes on Friday - there will be a prize for the best musician/group too! This year’s Fleadh Cheoil (All Ireland Festival) is an enormous event with several hundred thousand spectators and takes place in Sligo from August 8th to 16th. |
by Rob Howard
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| On Saturday June 20th, 6pm, Russian accordionist Natalya Chesnova who lives in Italy and French singer Mireille Ben perform together a concert titled ‘A Montmartre Ce Soir’ – the songs and the stories of the Montmartre cabaret in Paris in the late 19th Century. This open air concert takes place in the amphitheater Foppetta, Ponteranica (BG). In the event of rain the concert will take place in the atrium of the Centro Vivace, via Papa Giovanni XXIII, 10, Ponteranica (BG). Admission is free. |
by Rob Howard
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| On Saturday June 20th, 10.15am, the New Hampshire Accordion Association performs its annual Summer Solstice concert at Havenwood Retirement Village, 33 Christian Avenue, Concord, NH. The NHAA monthly meeting also takes place on Saturday June 20th, 12.30pm until 4pm, and this will be their Summer Concert. NHAA meets at Accordion Connection, LLC, 136 Route 106, Gilmanton, NH 03237. There will be no NHAA meeting in July, and the August 15th meeting will feature a surprise guest. For further information email: regisdonna@yahoo.com |
by Rob Howard
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| The Hertford Choral Society’s final concert of the 2014/15 season on Saturday June 20th, 7.30pm – 9.45pm, features a guest performance by the quintet ‘Accordion 5’, whose programme includes music by Bizet, Dove, Trenet, Mozart, Fauré, and Langlais. The concert takes place at All Saints Church, Hertford SG13 8AE. |
by Rob Howard
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  Bernard Delfigeas (accordion) and Grégory Aymard (organ) perform as guests of Sandrine Tarayre and Gilles Bagur on their show ‘Ambiance accordeon’on Télé-Toulouse this Sunday June 21st, 9pm. |
by Rob Howard
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  On Wednesday June 24th, 7.30pm, the Bradford Accordion Band (MD Anita Basic) is in concert at The Dubrovnik Hotel, Bradford, West Yorkshire.The concert includes guest spots by Anna Leskela (picture right - Bradford Accordion Band), and by Helen Rich and Pearl Fawcett-Adriano (picture left) - both representing Stockport Accordion Club. For further information email: petejebb@gmail.com |
by Rob Howard
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 The Kennet Accordion Orchestra (MD Nigel Pasby) perform in concert on Friday June 26th, 7.30pm, at Deanwood Park Golf Club, Stockcross, Newbury, Berkshire RG20 8JP. Jazz accordionist Harry Hussey will be a special guest. Tickets cost £10 each. Proceeds from the concert will go to the Newbury & District Cancer Care Trust. For further information email: nigelpasby@gmail.com |
by Rob Howard
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 The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland offers an accordion summer school, from Monday August 3rd until Friday 7th. This is an intensive and inspiring five-day course for musicians aged 12–17, offering the opportunity to work with teachers from both the Royal Conservatoire and Scotland’s leading specialist music school, St.Mary’s Music School.The course is designed to help develop and strengthen technical and musical skills, through knowledge of repertoire and healthy practice habits. Students will benefit from daily warm-up sessions, technique classes, individual lessons, ensemble playing and performances. Students will also learn about accordion manufacturers, great accordionists and what life is like as a full-time music student at a conservatory. The summer school will be led by one of Europe’s finest accordion players and teachers, Djordje Gajic (picture right). The deadline for applications is July 3rd. Tuition fee: £235. Places are currently available. The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is based at 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G2 3DB. The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland offers the degree BA (Honours) Scottish Music, and the accordion is one of the instruments accepted for study. For further information email: shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk |
by Rob Howard
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 Teodoro Anzellotti holds a classical accordion master class, August 24th to 30th, at the Livorno Music Festival in Italy.During the course of the Livorno Music Festival, instrumentalists, chamber music groups and singers will have the chance to be selected to perform at concerts and at future festivals. The best instrumentalist or singer or chamber music group will be included in the 2016 programme of concerts at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, the most important Italian Music Institution. From the city of Florence, Livorno by train is a 60 minutes train trip or by car an easy ride through the highway FI-PI-LI (Firenze-Pisa-Livorno). Those arriving from Pisa “Galileo Galilei” airport will find the journey is 20 minutes distance via train or coach. Italian-born Teodoro Anzellotti studied the accordion in Germany at the Hochschulen, Karlsruhe, and in Trossingen, and became successful in international competitions. Since the 1980s he has often been a guest at festivals and with orchestras. Teodoro Anzellotti has successfully contributed to integrating the accordion into the sphere of classical music. He has a particular interest in what is termed New Music. His discography embraces a spectrum reaching from Bach and Scarlatti to Janácek and Satie to John Cage and Matthias Pintscher. For further information email: infolivornomusicfestival@gmail.com |
New and Updated Sites |
by Gary Dahl
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  Updated site with a new eBook titled Italian Spectacular released by Gary Dahl. Gary Dahl writes: "The Italian contribution to music over the centuries is an artistic treasure we all can enjoy. The accordion, because of its orchestral capabilities, brings this joy to all accordionists and their listeners. The Italian Spectacular book of arrangements will enable every accordionist to enhance this great heritage of musical history." You can see samples of each piece at Catalog: DH08-eB eBook means that the book is emailed to you. Purchase online for USD$35.50 or Euro equivalent at: DH08-eB This eBook Italian Spectacular is Collection #8 in a series of eBooks by Gary Dahl that have proved to be very popular: There is a special for clients wanting to purchase all 8 eBooks at: DH01-08eB |
CD Reviews |
by Alessandro Mugnoz
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 CD Reviews Index for the Review of L'armonica a mantice di Giuseppe Greggiati, in English and Italian languages. Performer Corrado Rojac, reviewed by Alessandro Mugnoz. |
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